The July 4th gathering of the Amber Waves Chapter of LSDOS with the Quail Unlimited Group in Petrolia, Kansas went very well! There were between 40 & 50 members of the Quail Unlimited Group present. They provided smoked ham, lots of tasty side dishes and deserts, and all the eating utensils.

Our group cooked a variety of dishes. Dennis & Cheri Shultz made ham & beans, jalapeno cornbread, hamburger stroganoff, potato & sausage casserole, and hominy. 8½ year old Mandan Shultz fixed BBQ’d meatballs in her 8" oven. Larry Culp made baked potato soup and enchilada casserole. Danielle Michael cooked a goulash dish called Dutch Oven Delight. And Doug & I made some spicy baked beans, green bean & white corn casserole, gumbo, Ruth Kendrick’s Spicy Tex- Mex Chicken Cobbler, and Mississippi Swamp cake. With a combo cooker and 13 Dutch ovens cooking (two of which were over a campfire) it did get mighty warm, even with the shade trees and canopy! It was worth it though, to hear the compliments, and to see people coming back for 2nd and even 3rd helpings!

This was daughter Danielle’s and young Mandan’s first "public" cooking, and they did really well.

Since this was an all day event, we had lots of time to visit with people and share information about Dutch oven cooking and LSDOS. Several people stayed close to the cooking area most of the afternoon, watching and asking questions. We really enjoyed sharing it all with them. Quite a few folks picked up handouts with information on our chapter and LSDOS membership applications, so maybe we’ll get some new cooks signed up.

Ronda Barnow

Green Bean & White Corn Casserole

2 cans French cut green beans, drained

2 cans white shoe peg corn, drained

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cans cream of celery soup

Mix all above ingredients and place in 9 x 13 pan.

Crush 1 tube Ritz crackers, and mix with 1 stick melted butter.

Sprinkle on top of bean mixture.

Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350.

Optional adds: Slivered almonds (scatter on top last ten minutes of baking)

Grated cheese - Sliced water chestnuts - Chopped green pepper

Chopped celery

Ronda Barnow 2003